Farming with Taobao - C69
Chapter 69 Nameless Dining Hall (19)
Both Mao Dou and Zhao Xu were very happy. One of them was young and could still not leave’s side, and the other one was secretly relieved. Finally, they no longer had to endure Mao Dou’s cooking skills.
On the first day, Mrs Zhang was still worried, so she followed Zhang Bao to take a look around town. Seeing that Zhang Bao was doing a good job in the store, as well as the good business, she itchily helped out the store for a few days. But in the end, he was still an old man, and not someone who was used to working hard like the Aunt Zhang. After holding on for four or five days, he was sent back to Zhang Village by Zhang Bao while shouting about his backache.
From then on, First Aunt Xia Taohua became an official employee of the small restaurant, and the two of them split the money separately. The child was left alone in the house under the care of his grandparents, and at the end of the month, Li Yannian had specifically instructed Black Bean to pay a small amount of money, which was even more than what she had with the Zhang family.
Li Yannian did not need to help in the shop as her days were actually not that light either. She had to cook three meals a day, clean the house, and take care of the vegetables in the yard. She had to purify the eggs in time to kill the butterflies that flew in. In addition, Black Bean and him would go to the market in the town three to five days time to cook some new rice and change it into new rice while they were at it.
After the Auntie Li and the Uncle Li next door finished taking care of their own fields, they would remember to help Li Yannian take care of their home’s three mu of sweet potato field when they were free. It was currently warm in May, and the crops were growing crazily. Originally, Uncle Li wanted to catch fertilizer for their land, but luckily Li Yannian still remembered the precautions in the manual he bought for the family crops, so he stopped them in time.
Fattening during the sweet potato growing season would only encourage the leaves and vines of the sweet potato, and would instead affect the growth of the root.
Uncle Li lamented: This thing’s temper is pretty weird! “Fortunately, I heard from you that you planned to catch up with the sweet potatoes growing in the mountains tomorrow.”
Li Yannian laughed: “This is the first time we are not familiar with the crops overseas, so it is only natural. “Uncle Li, Aunt, I forgot to tell you guys that the stem and leaves of this thing are able to tear off the outer membrane, and can even be eaten as food if it is stir-fried.”
Li Yannian plucked a piece of sweet potato leaf from the Tian Tou site and showed it to the two of them. If she didn’t like it, she could chop it up and mix it with bran to feed the chicken. “However, it’s best not to pick too much now. After the next six or seven months, it would be best to pick the tender ones to eat.”
Uncle Li and Auntie Li nodded as they listened. They felt that this fruit, regardless if it grew longer or not, if the leaves could eat it, it was still a treasure. If this year’s cultivation in the mountains was not bad, then he could also plant one or two acres of land next year. At that time, all the food and vegetables he had at home would be taken care of together.
On the afternoon of the third day, Black Bean went home to wrap the dumplings with his brother and sister after taking a vacation. Li Yannian had originally wanted to call the Auntie Li family next door, but after hearing that Hu Zi and his brother had specially rushed here to celebrate the holidays, she felt too embarrassed to disturb their family reunion.
Everything was ten. The cooked dumplings could be kept for a very long time either hanging on the beams or hanging in a bamboo basket. As long as a few were cut while eating, the dumplings could be put back into the pot to be heated up once more.
Auntie Li had originally thought that the dumplings Li Yannian had given her were the same as the one she had given her, except that they had been stained with the salt of the white rice dumplings — that kind of five cuts was also a very good holiday, and in the end, her family had cooked a big piece of pork that was half fat and half thin.
Hu Zi ate three big dumplings in one go. If not for the fact that Auntie Li was afraid that he might not digest the food, Hu Zi felt that he could eat three more.
“These children are really considerate. This little thing must have cost another lot of money, “Auntie Li couldn’t help but sigh.
Hu Zi was stupefied, he laughed: “Black Bean is going to the shop every day, I’m afraid that there is no time to chop firewood in his house. Mother, Big brother and I are going to the shop tomorrow morning, it would be better to cut two extra bundles of firewood before dawn, Brother, do you think so?”
Baozi nodded his head honestly, “Hmm, let’s go up the mountain first thing tomorrow morning. Two bundles is not enough, two bundles per person.”
Uncle Li looked at his two sturdy sons, and the corner of his eyes slowly filled with proud wrinkles. “Then Father will go with you.”
Auntie Li laughed: “Alright, alright, alright, you guys are all going. Tomorrow morning, I’ll cook this dumpling back to you and take you guys out on the road to eat. Eh, his dad, why don’t you let these two brothers bring two slices of rice dumplings and give it to the shopkeeper. Tiger and leopard are working in their store and have received a lot of care from the shopkeeper, so there’s nothing good for us to give them.
Uncle Li looked at the dumpling with a pained look, but still nodded his head in the end: “I cut it a little too little, and then ordered another half a basket for the eggs at home. I will cut the meat in half, since it’s a gift, it’s too ugly.”
The couple had agreed on this.
Early morning of the second day, Black Bean brought along the ox-cart workers. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the six big bundles of firewood opposite the door. He looked at the closed door of Uncle Li’s house next door and felt his heart warm up, as if a flame had been ignited.
“Er Niu, help big bro lead the oxcart. I’ll go to the kitchen with the firewood first.”
Black Bean called out to Li Yannian who was busy working in the kitchen, and the latter wiped his hands and came out. When he saw the scene in front of the door, he asked curiously: Who delivered this, I was just about to tell you that there was not enough firewood in our house, I came back home in the afternoon and went back to the mountain to gather some firewood.
Black Bean indicated towards Uncle Li’s house next door: “Who else could it be? Yesterday, I gave you a dumpling and today, I will chop firewood and bring it back. With Uncle Li and Aunt Li around, I can relax a little at home. “You should thank her properly later.”
Li Yannian laughed: “Mn, got it.”
Yesterday, when she wrapped the dumplings, she had a way to earn money and wanted to discuss it with the Auntie Li. In front of him, she was so busy that she had fainted. Li Yannian had actually forgotten how she obtained the first pot of gold in the system.
There were a lot of forage leaf on Li Village. They were naturally raised, and as long as one had hands, even a child could pick quite a lot of them in a day. Furthermore, the bamboo that produced forage leaf s was not like the wood-like plants, it was easy to damage. As long as the bamboo wasn’t damaged, they could produce new plants in the coming year.
Auntie Li already had a way to return back to the village and help her collect the eggs. As long as she was able to help, Li Yannian would still hand over the job of collecting forage leaf to her family. Firstly, she didn’t have to come out and fight with the villagers, and Li Yannian was afraid that those aunts and aunts would try to bully him, so he didn’t take her as a girl. Secondly, she could also create some extra income for the Auntie Li and the villagers, so that they could supplement their families.
It was not because Li Yannian had so many saints, but because she did not forget the people in the village even when she was rich. People all said that a man in a village who could not fill his stomach or warm his clothes could not avoid trouble if his family lived comfortably for a long time. Moreover, to Li Yannian, it was just a simple move. She planned to start the egg collection business again along with the forage leaf.
If someone took it, they would naturally have thoughts on raising it.
Li Yannian took advantage of the time before lunch to tell Auntie Li: “There are so many forage leaf there, if our two families want them, we can’t get much. We can just let the villagers earn this money, as long as we are in charge of it, my brother will be in charge of the luck, so we don’t have to worry about it at all. Aunt, if you are worried that we won’t be able to handle this in the day, ask villagers to send it over after dinner, and you can count it yourself. “I don’t think anyone would dare to fool us like this even if we were to be blown into the limelight.”
“You only charged them two coins for a hundred pieces. I’ll give you two hundred pieces of hardware on my side. The extra money is just for the examination fee. Aunt, what do you think about this idea?”
Auntie Li calculated in her heart. If she had to count them all herself when she received them, then there would naturally be no way to count them all. However, according to Li Yannian’s method, there was no need. If she found out about it later and stopped the business, she would regret it until she died!
“Done!” This business was doing really well. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to the other wives in the village tonight and keep it safe for you.”
Li Yannian laughed: “I am relieved that you have something to do. Also, don’t forget about the matter of collecting eggs. If you have free time, you should keep some chickens at home.
Auntie Li smiled bitterly in her heart. If the family could still afford to keep a few, who wouldn’t want to raise a few more? But Li Yannian’s last few words still managed to move the Auntie Li’s thoughts. She thought that when the potato vines on the mountain gave him some food to feed the chickens, she would grind her teeth, and after the two hens at home finished hugging their nests, she would also carry some chickens to raise. At most, she would be able to catch a few more of them when she was working in the fields. She could also catch some frogs to feed the chickens, but it would take more effort.
After Auntie Li sent Li Yannian away, she couldn’t help but admire the little girl from the Li Family. She was only ten years old, and her thoughts of making money came one after another. It was no wonder that the better life they had in their home, the more envious and blushing she was. A family’s labor force could not even compare to a few children.
It seemed that living this life was hard and saving up. It was best to think of other ways to deal with this situation!
When Auntie Li thought about the heavy copper coin that she was about to put into her pocket, she could not help but smile again. The good news was yet to come.